By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Luxurious, spa-like treatment to the bathroom can go a long way in getting buyers attention, and it doesn’t have to break the bank to get the look either. An article by Michael Keith with the Associated Press, Transforming a Bath Into a Spa Can Be Easy, contained several tips from designers on how to transform a bathroom into a relaxing, retreat.

Here are four simple tips from the article:

1. Use light colors. Try light color palettes, such as seafoam green and white. Then finish the look by using simple black-and-white photographs of ocean waves on the walls.

2. Choose white fabrics. White gives you a clean, crisp feel. Try white towels and bath mats to brighten the bathroom.

3. Play calming music. Get a small iPod dock and play music with ambient nature sounds, ocean waves, or forest breezes.

4. Accessorize. Fill glass cylinders with seashells or river rocks. Also, display a basket with rolled towels.

What budget-friendly ideas do you have for creating a spa-like bathroom?

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

On a hot summer day, who isn’t envious of the house with the inviting, backyard pool to jump in and cool off? But today’s cost conscious homebuyer may be leery of taking the plunge with buying a home with a pool, viewing the upkeep as putting them in the deep-end of mounds of extra expense.

In-ground pools can be attractive features when selling a home; Realtor.com allows buyers to narrow their home search to properties with only a pool. However, some buyers are looking more closely at the added expense, just as some home owners are even opting to remove that once-considered jewel of the backyard.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article (Taking a Bath on Your Pool by Brett Arends), experts estimated that pools can add $3,000-$5,000 in maintenance a year. And if something goes wrong, say the filters or pump need replaced, costs can quickly add up.

For example, a pool that is five years old often needs a new filter or pump, which could cost an estimated $500, according to an MSNBC article (“Is It a Pool or Money Pit?” by Melinda Fulmer). A pool that needs to be resurfaced may cost $5,000-$10,000, depending on its size. And thinking about upgrading the tile, decking, or plaster? That could cost you up to $20,000, according to the article.

And don’t forget initial installation fees too. Pool installation fees, which vary considerably, often range from about $25,000 to $50,000.

Don’t want the pool any more? Getting rid of it isn’t cheap either. A partial removal can run you anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000, depending on the size. A full removal, which varies greatly, averages $10,000 to $15,000 for a small pool, according to CostHelper.com.

Taking into account all of the expenses, many financial advisers are telling buyers to take caution before jumping into pool ownership.

However, expenses aside, a well-maintained pool, especially in an area where you can use it more than three months out of the year, can still be an attractive feature to buyers.

The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, a trade association representing the industry, recently posted a response to The Wall Street Journal’s article questioning the expense of a pool: “There are many, many things – including pools – which people choose to buy because it makes their lives better,” the association writes on its Web site. “A pool or a hot tub may or may not be a financial investment, but they are most assuredly a quality-of-life investment.”

By Sonja Greenlee, kitchen gardener for The DS Team

Lush gardens and planters sprouting life can make a huge difference to the curb appeal of a home – even in the autumn season. So if your clients are looking for a hardy vegetable to add to outdoor pots, or to spruce up a fall garden, tell them to try planting radishes. They are easy to grow, sprout in three to five days, and are ready to eat in four to five weeks.

Plus, radishes are a great fall weather crop. These shade-tolerant plans also work well in the southern region of the U.S. in the winter when temperatures are in the 70s.

Sow the tiny radish seeds in half-inch deep, well-worked soil. Plant in rows or in a mass; just remember to thin so the plants are two to three inches apart once the root systems are established. Be sure to harvest the plants before the roots get too big, or they will crack and become woody.

In addition to bringing life to the garden, radishes will bring life to the kitchen. Cut off the tops and give them a good washing. Radishes will store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. They are high in vitamin C and have plenty of fiber. Raw radishes are wonderful in salad or as a crudités, and radish greens are edible as well!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sonja Greenlee is a special correspondent for The DS Team and is the culinary columnist for The Sanford Herald in Sanford, Fla. She is the mother of three and grandmother of two, who maintains residences in Florida and New Hampshire.

By Elaine Williamson, Elaine Williamson Designs

With temperatures reaching record highs throughout the U.S., thoughts of autumn seem but a woeful wish. The fall season evokes thoughts of home and hearth, as families and friends eagerly anticipate re-connecting with one another amid busy lives.

Of course, most want a home design and décor that will impress, and help de-compress, impending company – one with that autumn sensibility that exudes comfort and warmth … and duly stimulates the senses.

With this in mind, here are 10 top home design and décor trends for fall:

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

1. Vintage accents. What’s old is new again. French-burlap is no longer just for sack-racing. This Earth-friendly fiber is being used for chic pillows imprinted with a vintage stamped design or even a family initial.

Accent chairs can also be seen covered in gray linen imprinted with vintage “document” script writing. Vintage couture lamps (and their replicas) are utter perfection this year, especially those with milk glass and natural material bases, drum shades, and antique brass finials.

Aged, color-washed wood accessories such as candlesticks, urns, and bowls are popular as oversized accessories to accent and update a time-worn look.

2. Wallpaper! With a decreasing demand for faux finishes and walls painted in solid primary colors, wallpaper is making a comeback in a big and decidedly fashionable way.

From bright and bold to subdued and elegant, today’s wallpapers are easy to apply and even easier to remove, making updating the seasonal look of a room easier than ever before. here are a seemingly endless number of choices from solids to patters, and everything in between.

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

3. Timeless art. When shopping for items to occupy wall space, ditch the quick fix, “matchy-matchy” picture. Art doesn’t have to be expensive but it should certainly have meaning. Buy what you love. Mix mediums and styles. To add depth and character to your pieces, forego the glass cover that can be distracting and casts a glare that actually detracts from your interior design.

4. Elemental color. While neutrals have made a strong showing in design this year for primary design elements like walls and baseline furnishings, boldly colored accent pieces give a space visual interest and appeal.

Brightly colored and/or patterned pillows, rugs and other accessories will bring an otherwise bland space to life. Of course, these accessories can be readily transitioned to exude the spirit of a given season.

5. Space simplification. With a strong desire to ease and reprioritize our homes and lifestyles, de-cluttering — even with respect to editing down furnishings and accessories — is the best way to gain control of your surroundings and feel a refreshed sense of purpose.

It is very important to streamline not only the lines of your furniture, but the bulkiness as well. But, this does not mean giving up comfort for style. Many times we place too many items in a room by way of accessories, pillows, throw rugs, and family photos.

Pick and choose very carefully the most important items and then pare down from there. There is brilliance in restraint.

6. Rug rage. There has never been a more exciting time than now in the area rug industry. Whatever style, shape, and design you can imagine is within your reach.

Even if a space has wall-to-wall carpeting, place an area rug to establish a layered look and add depth and personality to a room and also tie in other disparate color components. A rug’s color palette and pattern can easily establish the desired style and tone of a season.

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

7. Bed basics. Bedding has also changed this year. The pomp and circumstances of overstuffed pillows that seem to multiply in the night are out. Way out.

Exquisite, neutral colored linens are in, especially when paired with a luxurious top blanket and a clean lined duvet.

For those who desire more color that’s representative of fall or any other season, indulge in two medium sized pillows placed in front of each sham.

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

8. Pillow talk. Today’s pillow designs offer an array of textures, colors, shapes, sizes, and accents, and can completely transform a room’s aesthetic. Accordingly, pillows have become the ultimate interior design accessory, especially since they are so versatile.

Choose an assortment of pillows for the spring and summer and other set for the fall and winter. This is an easy way to seasonally transition a room in an easy and budget-friendly way.

Also, resist the urge to “karate chop” pillows to give them a center crease as this look is not style savvy.

9. Window treatments. While many love luscious fabrics, an overuse of material on your windows can quickly overpower an otherwise streamlined room. Linen panels are now very trendy since they beautifully outline and soften windows. This classic and timeless fabric is now available in a staggering array of colors to coordinate with any interior palette.

10. Brass. Yes, brass is back but a bit older and wiser. Antiqued brass and even antiqued gold have both made a large comeback on everything from drapery rods, to cocktail tables, to door and cabinet knobs to décor figurines.

The light reflecting surface of brass adds warmth, glow and movement to a space and, thus, is perfect in a room with a fireplace.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Luxury interiors expert Elaine Williamson is the principal of Elaine Williamson Designs, a full service, award-winning firm specializing in high-end residential and commercial interior design. She may be reached online at www.ElaineWilliamsonDesigns.com, accessed on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/ewd-facebook, and followed on Twitter at “ElaineWDesigns”.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Come wintertime, homes can suffer from the winter blues too. When it’s cold, gray, and snowing, how can you still make a home warm and inviting to potential buyers? I’m collecting favorite winter staging tips for an upcoming article in REALTOR® Magazine, and I want to hear from you!

Please e-mail your best winter staging tip to Melissa Dittmann Tracey at mtracey@realtors.org and include your name, company, and city/state. Be free to send any photos of your winter transformations too! Some of your submissions will appear in an upcoming issue of REALTOR® Magazine, as well as be featured at Styled, Staged & Sold.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Nothing kills curb appeal like brown grass spots or an uncared for lawn. Buyers love vibrant green lawns, but when you’re dealing with abandoned foreclosures, homes in drought areas, or home owners who haven’t committed to the upkeep, getting that green lawn seems impossible.

Not anymore — and you don’t even have to use water either. A new home trend is to grab some spray paint and dye the entire lawn green, ABC News reports.

Some staging and real estate professionals have been embracing green spray paint in covering up brown grass patches for years. But now companies are popping up that will do it for you — and paint the entire lawn, not just a spot here and there.

Lawn Smart USA, based in Tom Rivers, N.J., will dye the lawn green by spraying an environmentally pet and child safe paint onto the lawn that will last up to 3 months.

Some home owners and real estate professionals are being lured to not only the curb appeal but the water savings too.

Watch the video below to see how Lawn Smart USA is transforming lawns, and then take our poll to share your thoughts about this trend.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Hong Kong architect Gary Chang doesn’t sacrifice any square inch of his tiny, 350-square-foot apartment. He’s found a way to turn it into a home office, master bedroom, kitchen, guest room, media center, and more…in just 350 square feet.

Chang designed what he’s nicknamed the “domestic transformer” and has shown how a smart design style can truly make the tiniest spaces contain all you ever need.

The rooms in Chang’s 350-square-foot space are created by sliding walls that reveal new spaces and functions. Up to 24 new spaces can be created.

For example, where you see a wall in the living room, you can pull it away to show a linen closet. Move it again and you’ll find a soaker bath tub.

Pull the mounted TV forward, and you’ll find the full kitchen behind it. That home office can quickly transform into the dining room.

It’s a case of now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t design in making small spaces seem bigger.

“The house transforms and I’m always there, I don’t move. The house moves for me,” Chang told Planet Green TV in a video segment about his space.

By G. M. Filisko, contributing writer, HouseLogic

You’ve preached to sellers that curb appeal goes beyond making a good first impression and that the way their house looks from the street can impact its value and shorten the time it takes to sell. But have you given them concrete curb appeal tips they can implement today?

Get “8 free tips for adding curb appeal to your home” now available in the August “Curb Appeal” article package at the REALTOR^® Content Resource. Here are just two of the tips you’ll find there:

1. Paint the house. Hands down, the most commonly offered curb appeal advice from real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation. Just make sure you stay within the range of accepted colors for your market. A house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers.

2. Have the house washed. Before you make the investment in a paint job, take a good look at the house. If it’s got mildew or general grunge, just washing the house could make a world of difference, says Valerie Torelli, a California real estate agent. Before she puts a house on the market, Torelli often does exterior makeovers, a service she pays for herself. Overall, she says her goal is to spend less than $5,000 and generate an extra $10,000 to $15,000 on the sale price.

For even more free tips you can use on your Web site, blog, or e-newsletter, head to the August “Curb Appeal” article package at the REALTOR^® Content Resource. There you’ll also find tips on outdoor lighting for curb appeal and safety, landscaping for curb appeal, choosing an exterior door, and a guide to garage door options.

The REALTOR^® Content Resource, the new tool brought to you by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®, is an exclusive NAR member benefit that entitles you to download free homeownership content in your consumer Web site, blog, or e-newsletter. HouseLogic is the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS’^® no-topic-left-uncovered consumer Web site geared to helping home owners make smart decisions to maintain, protect, and increase the value of their home.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Those kitchen cabinets may soon get pricier.

A new law recently signed by President Obama limits the amount of formaldehyde used in U.S. products. Formaldehyde can be found in the glue that holds wood together, often used in furniture, cabinets, and inexpensive wood products.

While the new law will make furniture greener — and safer to your health — some furniture-makers will likely need to increase the cost of their products as they explore an alternative to using formaldehyde. Some industry experts predict that furniture pricetags may increase anywhere from 5-15 percent on items that currently contain the formaldehyde-based glue.

In high doses, formaldehyde can be dangerous to your health. Health experts have linked it to respiratory problems and even cancer.

The health dangers of formaldehyde gained widespread attention after trailers for victims of Hurricane Katrina were banned when some victims experienced respiratory problems from the formaldehyde used in the trailers’ walls, cabinets, and ceilings, according to a recent article in USA Today (Furniture to be Greener, But Pricier by Jayne O’Donnell).

It could be at least three years before all products sold in the United States must meet the new guidelines, which limits formaldehyde emissions to 0.09 parts per million or less. In California, which paved the way for the federal law, furniture stores must comply sooner — Dec. 31, 2011.

By Barbara Ballinger, Architecture Coach columnist

Functionality is still a key driver when home owners spend thousands of dollars to build and remodel kitchens and bathrooms. But high performance shouldn’t exclude comfort — and fun. These products, which were highlighted at the 2010 annual National Kitchen & Bath Association show in Chicago, mesh function and comfort:

1. Warmly Yours adds the right amount of warmth just where it’s needed to make bathing, shaving, or applying make-up easier and more delightful, with radiant floor mats, towel warmers, and defoggable mirrors. Outdoors, sensors can detect wetness and cold to warm surfaces, whether a driveway, front walk, or patio.

2. Known for its dish drawers, Fisher & Paykel introduced an all-in-one “CoolDrawer” that makes gathering in the kitchen more enjoyable. The undercounter, variable-temperature drawer can be programmed to chill or freeze foods and store wine.

3. Glass works well as a countertop surface since it’s fashioned from recycled content, is low maintenance, nonporous, durable, and can be molded into curves or angles. But it also can be an artistic, fun surface to work on. ThinkGlass’ control panel allows the glass to change colors while also being illuminated.

4. Bathing hasn’t been just about getting clean since ancient times, but today’s tubs keep upping the ante on how relaxing the experience it can be. Kohler’s “Fountainhead VibrAcoustic” design features vibration, recorded sound tracks–though home owners can add their own music choices, chromatherapy, and different colors for the tub itself. Maax’s “Eterne” tub offers similar pleasures with aromatherapy, chromatherapy, a quiet pump, and optional back massage heater.

5. With new standards required to make showering more water efficient, Moen’s “Envi” rainhead satisfies the need; its 100 nozzles also make the experience more soothing. The head can also be adjusted so fewer nozzles provide a more concentrated spray.